A network element such as, for example, a router or a switch may be configured using a set of states. These states may include, but are not limited to, configuration data of the network element, measurements captured by the network element, hardware, software and/or firmware version information of various components of the network element, routing and/or forwarding information table content, etc. States may be exchanged with other devices in a network, e.g., with other network elements and/or with computing devices.